On December 12, an ultra-deep and super-large diameter hard rock vertical tunnel boring machine (TBM) Shouchuang, a TBM independently developed and manufactured by CCCC, was successfully launched and started excavation in the No. 2-1 shaft of Tianshan Shengli tunnel in Xinjiang.

All parts and components of the TBM Shouchuang all domestically manufactured. After rolling off the production line at the CCCC Tianhe Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing, a company based in Changshu, on September 17, the TBM arrived at the project site on November 14. It only took 25 days to complete the assembly and the debugging of the TBM, and then launched successfully, realizing intelligent vertical tunneling, and engineering verification. Shouchuang overcomes many disadvantages such as without precedent, complex geology, difficulty in project implementation, and combines TBM rock breaking technology with traditional drilling for the first time to realize unmanned underground operation and one-time forming of super-large diameter shafts. The excavated gravel is discharged through the mud-water circulation system for environmental protection treatment, which makes Shouchuang the first one ever in the history of tunnel shaft construction in the world.

The special research task of CCCC's hard rock vertical TBM took one and a half years to overcome a complete set of core technologies for TBM shaft tunneling technology and equipment, and thus promoted major changes in the construction technology of tunnel shafts in the world. The successful launch and smooth excavation of TBM Shouchuang will play an important role in accelerating the construction progress of the shaft of Tianshan Shengli tunnel and ensuring the quality and safety of the project.